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Sneak Attack
I. Introduction I.A. The Sneak Attacker People often think of “sneak attacker” as being synonymous with “Rogue.” This is a silly holdover from backstab and thieves in Second Edition. The 3.5E reality is this: Rogue is a base class that happens to get full sneak attack progression. That’s it. That doesn’t mean a primarily sneakattacking character has to have any levels in Rogue, or that he’s even expected to, or that Rogue is even the default starting class. There are viable builds that only gain SA dice through prestige classes. So throw out your preconceptions of the shadowy, leather-wearing, hiding and silently moving, weapon-finessing Rogue. A plate-wearing Paladin with 12 Dexterity can be a sneaker while standing right in front of the enemy. A barbarian swinging a greataxe can be a sneaker while power attacking. A monk punching and kicking and stunning can be a sneaker. Unlike the “Class handbooks,” which talk about what can be done with certain base classes, this handbook will provide a focused, directed discussion on a certain type of character—the primarily sneak attacking character. Character concepts that have, for example, +3d6 sneak as icing on top of a build that primarily focuses on other methods of doing damage are not covered by this. Strategies put forth in this Handbook work for primary sneak attackers, and thus might not work for “icing” sneak attackers. Before reading this Handbook, you must understand the basics of sneak attack. If you still think a character can only sneak attack only once per round, or once per arm, or that you must be “behind” the target to make a sneak attack, this Handbook is not for you. Read Skip’s Rules of the Game articles (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/rg) on Sneak attacking first. I.B. Terminology Sneaker: the character who will be doing the sneak attacking Target: the opponent who will be sneak attacked Keystone condition: the crucial sneak attacking condition, satisfied by denying DEX to AC or flanking SA: sneak attack TWF: Two-weapon fighting; refers to both the feats and the combat style MWF: Multiweapon fighting THF: two-handed weapon fighting SLA: spell-like-ability, also known as (Sp) in creature stat blocks I.C. Sneak Attack Requirements These are the requirements for a sneak attack. An attack you make can be a sneak if and only if all of the following conditions apply the moment before you make the attack roll: Target has a discernable anatomy (Not one of the following: undead, construct, plant, ooze, incorporeal) and is not immune to critical hits Target has no concealment relative to sneaker (Not in shadowy illumination, not in a fog, sneaker’s not blind, etc.) The “keystone” condition: Deny target’s DEX bonus to AC OR Flank target Attack must involve an attack roll—thus, touch spells (like rays) can be sneak attacks, while attacks that target an area cannot, even if they are “mundane” Sneaker within 30 ft of target if ranged Sneaker can reach target’s vitals (Requires DM adjudication. Usually comes into play with particularly large or particularly small creatures.) II. General Optimization Strategies 1. Aim for TWF/MWF Two-weapon fighting and Multiweapon fighting are never used more appropriately than by a sneaker. The penalties of TWF and MWF might be disastrous for a charging Barbarian or a Master Thrower hurling axes, for example, but for a sneaker, it’s pure gold. An off-hand weapon only adds 0.5*STRmod—normally a significant drop from the 1.5*STRmod THF gives, but it gets all of your sneak d6’s. Your STR is probably a 10 anyway. For a melee sneaker, the trick is to survive long enough to get a full-attack action—sometimes easier than it seems (see IV.A.2. below). However, for melee sneakers not primarily built for dishing out loads of damage, or for ranged sneakers unable to acquire the keystone more than once a round, THF is still a viable choice. It’s just easier to make a TWF build. (For ranged sneakers, this means throwing daggers or using hand crossbows instead of shooting arrows.) 2. Short swords are generally better than their fancy upgrades Remember, the majority of your damage is going to come from those d6’s. Getting an extra +2 average damage per attack for a bastard sword over a short sword might be nice for a standard TWFer, but that Exotic Weapon Proficiency is an extra feat you have to spend, you now essentially have committed yourself to STR instead of DEX (since you can’t Finesse a bastard sword), and you get some massive penalties on your off-hand. Say no to the bastard sword and other higher-damage exotic weapons. As for rapiers, it’s not a light weapon—you get -2 to attack with both off- and main-hands. Is that really worth the extra 5% chance of doubling 1d6 damage? Remember, SA dice aren’t doubled during criticals. A sneaker is best when he doesn’t have to rely on criticals to bring up his average damage. In short, choose the short sword, unless you’re going the Feinting (and thus the Invisible Blade) route, in which case you must select a type of dagger. (See Feinting Method, below.) There are also other good weapon choices, depending on style, particular uses, campaign specifics, and prestige classes/feats you might want to go into. I just used the short sword as the standard-issue light weapon. Note: short sword requires martial weapon proficiency or levels in Rogue. By the same token, for ranged sneakers, throwing daggers are better than using up a feat to throw swords or larger weapons, and a shortbow is better than longbow if you need to spend feats to be proficient with the longbow. 3. Darkvision is a necessity This seems to be overlooked by many sneaker builds, but is extremely important, as it prevents the target from having concealment. If the target is not within the “bright” radius of a light source (the shadowy radius is not sufficient), he cannot be sneak attacked unless the sneaker has Darkvision, Blindsight, or something similar. A sneaker with low-light vision cannot sneak attack in the dark! Low-light vision simply doubles the “bright” radius and the “shadowy” radius of a light source. If a sneaker without Darkvision is caught in evening combat 20 ft. from a lamp, he will not be able to sneak attack the target. An even better ability is being able to see in magical darkness, which allows sneak attacks within the radius of a darkness or similar spell. Darkvision is provided by the following: Many races, including half-orc, whisper gnome, drow, svirfneblin, thri-kreen, etc. Hoardstealer 1 130 Darkwood Stalker CW Dark Hunter 2 CW Dungeon Delver 1 CV Horizon Walker 1 DMG The Darkvision spell Phb help here Seeing in magical darkness is provided by the following: Telflammar Shadowlord 1 36 gives Shadowsight Warlock 1 5 gives Devil’s sight Helbred FC2 at level 15. help here III. Strategies for Various Keystone Methods In order to build a character around sneak attacking, the character must have a reliable and consistent method of acquiring the conditions in I.C. above. The most important being, of course, the keystone condition. Many types of strategies rely on methods of denying DEX, while the most commonly-used one relies on flanking. III.A. Flanking Method This sneaker relies on battlefield control, mobility, and allies to acquire her keystone. She and an ally must stand on opposite sides of the target to acquire flanking. This often involves teamwork, but it can be done alone, provided the sneaker can summon an ally via an item or a spell or a spell-like ability, or other special ability. It’s the most commonly-used method because it requires the least investment. Anyone can flank, and the only things immune to flanking (elementals, etc.) are also immune to sneak attacks. However, this does mean the target’s AC will be slightly higher since its DEX still applies to AC. Being a good flanker is as much about having the ability to move into flanking position as about decision-making. Therefore, mobility and allies are the top priorities. If you cannot rely on your numbskull allies to help you get those d6’s, you might want to invest in an item that summons a creature. Also, any type of creature with at least 5ft. reach will do, and thus you can use your mount, animal companion, astral construct, etc. if you possess those. 1. Skills Movement skills are important (Tumble, Jump, Climb, in that order). See IV.B. THF Strategies, below. 2. Feats Mobility and Spring Attack are good. 3. Races, Classes, Prestige Classes The most important ability a flanking sneaker can get from a prestige class is Flanker (Ex). It allows the sneaker to designate any adjacent square (even if it’s a wall or occupied!) as the square he’s in for the purposes of flanking determination. There are two prestige classes that offer the Flanker ability: Elocator 4 (XPH 142) Tactical Soldier 1 (MHB 22) Other features classes offer include faster movement (Brb, Mnk come to mind) and the ability to teleport. Classes that offer teleport-like abilities at relatively optimized cost: Horizonwalker 6 189 Often used to qualify for Telf, but that robs you of any decent SA damage. Besides, there are other ways of getting full-attack actions instantly (see TWF/MWF Strategies, IV.A.). Get some d6’s instead of Telf4 to complement your HW6. Warlock 6 134 gives Flee the scene Shadow-walker LA+1 70 gives various SLAs, including Dimension Door 3/day 4. Items Many items could potentially help you move into flanking position. Figurines of wondrous power, wands of summon monster, etc. III.B. Feinting Method (Note: due to the stupidest errata ever to hit the fan, the CW errata, Uncanny feint only allows you to free-action feint once per round. If this is used, the following strategy is almost completely worthless.) This sneaker almost must take 5 levels in Invisible Blade 44 for the amazing “Uncanny feint” ability. This allows him to make opposed Bluff checks in combat as free actions to deny target’s DEX bonus to AC. The sneaker can walk straight up and start sneak attacking if his Bluff modifier is high enough. Edit: recent errata limits the use of this ability to once per round as it is now considered a swift action When making a Bluff check to feint in combat, the target gets a special Sense Motive check that allows him to add his BAB. Against Outsiders, Magical beasts, Fighters, and other creatures with full BAB, simply maxing out Bluff is not enough. You need bonuses to Bluff. 1. Skills Uh, Bluff. And Craft, if you’re going Zhentarim Spy (see below). 2. Feats Nothing specific. Improved feint would fit here, but not really, since IB3 gives you the same thing under a different name, and you need IB5 anyway. 3. Races, Classes, Prestige Classes Invisible Blade 5 44 Obviously you need IB5 to even consider feinting as a viable option. If you can’t get feints as free actions, forget about feinting in combat. IB4 also gives Feint mastery, letting you take 10 on all Bluff checks to feint. Now that you’ve got IB5, take these classes to boost Bluff: Shadow Thief of Amn 2/3/4 74 Gives you +7 unnamed bonus to Bluff in addition to +1d6 SA at the cost of 1 feat and 2 levels. Take Persuasive as a prerequisite (+2), receive Doublespeak at STA1 (+2), and take Skill focus (bluff) with your bonus feat at STA2 (+3). It’s usually a good idea to take STA3 for another SA die, and often worth it to go up to STA4 for another free feat, albeit chosen from a restricted list. Monk 1 into Tattooed Monk 1 82 If you’re short on BAB, substitute Ftr2 for Mnk1 to get Imp. unarmed and Imp. grapple. Take White mask tattoo, and you get a permanent +10 unnamed bonus to Bluff. Zhentarim Spy 3/4 77 This is a goldmine as far as Bluff bonuses are concerned. At level 1, Cover identity gives you a circumstance Bluff bonus equal to 0.5*(ranks in Craft - 2) + 2, which would be 0.5*(ChLv + 5), a good bonus. However, at level 3, Unlikely Cover provides a Bluff bonus equal to (ranks in Craft - 2) + 4, which would be simply ChLv + 5. Add this to your maxed out Bluff ranks (ChLv + 3) and the IB’s Feint mastery, and you have a check of 60 at ChLv 20, without sacrificing anything significant. You got +1d6 out of Zhent3, and Zhent4 makes that +2d6. 4. Items Obviously any item that adds a competency bonus to Bluff would be great. A full, +30 custom item made with the rules 285 costs 90k. The Circlet of Persuasion provides a +3 competence bonus on Charisma related checks at the low cost of 4,500 gp. III.C. Invisibility Method This sneaker relies on various uses of the Hide skill (possibly in conjunction with Hide in plain sight), (Greater) invisibility, or some other method of gaining complete concealment, thereby denying DEX. Also the (Greater) blink spell, while not providing complete concealment, denies target’s DEX. If this is your primary, consistent keystone, then you must have a source for this 1. Skills Hide and Move Silently are essential, obviously. There is a lot of controversy regarding how Hide, Hide in plain sight (HIPS), and invisibility work. Not many people bother to read the fine print, but invisibility doesn’t work like it does in computer games. When you’re invisible, you’re not automatically undetected. You still have to make a Hide check, although you get a +20 modifier. Thus, against very good Spotters, an abysmal Hide modifier means invisibility won’t help you at all. They’ll still know you’re there based on all the signals you give off. 2. Feats Darkstalker 179 This means all those pesky Blindsensing, Blindsighting, Tremorsighting enemies will still have to Spot/Listen you to see you. Excellent for when your DM wants to foil your plans. help here 3. Races, Classes, Prestige Classes Obviously being a gish would help tremendously. Some levels in wizard or sorceror, perhaps coupled with Arcane Trickster or Assassin to get the SA dice. Pixie is also an often-chosen race for their permanent Greater Invisibility effect, if you can stomach the LA. 4. Items III.D. Incapacitating Method This sneaker relies on a consistent method of applying one of the following conditions to the target, thereby denying DEX: Cowering, flatfooted, grappling (including pinned), helpless (including paralyzed, held, bound, and unconscious, which itself includes dying, petrified, sleeping, and stable), or stunned. Note: the following do not deny DEX: Confused, dazed, deafened, disabled (0 HP), exhausted, entangled, fatigued, fascinated, frightened, knocked down, nauseated, panicked (though if you corner a panicked target, it begins to cower), sickened, shaken, staggered, or turned (though if you corner a turned target, it begins to cower). 1. Skills 2. Feats 3. Races, Classes, Prestige Classes 4. Items III.E. Miscellaneous Methods Catching an opponent flatfooted via certain feats (e.g., Flick of the wrist), class features (Iajutsu master), or simply at the start of combat. I don’t know of any consistently good methods allowed in all settings/FR, however. Let me know if there are. IV. Strategies for Various Attack Types IV.A. TWF/MWF Strategies 1. BAB and iterative attacks The point of a TWF/MWF sneaker is to get as many attack rolls in as possible so each one benefits from your full slew of d6s if it hits. Because one swing does you no good, you will always want to get all your attacks. This means that base attack bonus (BAB) is more important for you than even for the traditional fighter. Because the fighter will often charge and hit once, meaning for much of the time, iterative attacks are meaningless for him, you will always need BAB’s effect both on attack rolls and on iterative attacks. So realize that BAB is crucial, even more so than for the usual meleer. Just because traditional +d6 SA classes and prestige classes give medium BAB doesn’t mean you should stack 1 level dips. This should go without saying, but keep in mind that because SA dice are usually staggered on odd levels (e.g., Rogue 1, 3, 5, etc. give SA dice), but zero-BAB levels are every four levels, always on an odd level (e.g., Rogue 1, 5, 9, etc. give no BAB improvement), you will often have to find a balance between SA dice and BAB. If much of a build is spent with full-BAB classes, you can get away with more 3-level dips for two SA dice, but usually you will want to hit 4 levels for maximum BAB. 2. Full attack action Back to the fighter example: Whereas often he will charge and swing once, because one swing on a charge is probably a significant portion of his total damage output in a round, you would need to swing both arms once to do the same percentage of your total damage output. Unfortunately, movement means you can only swing one arm once—this is an inherent inferiority with TWF/MWF. What that boils down to is this: Regular meleers can single-attack and be satisfied. You, however, must full-attack. And so you make up for it by punishing your target with d6s on your full-attack. Now this is where TWF/MWF and sneak attack synergizes. Even though your expected output due to base weapon damage + STR mod + other bonuses is crappy with light weapons and bad BAB, you make up for it by hitting lots of times for this crappy output PLUS your flat SA dice each time. 3. Avoid taking a full attack action The problem, however, with the full-attack action is that you will obviously get full-attacked as well. If you move in front of an enemy and swing once, when his turn comes, he will full-attack you. Then, and only if you survive that barrage, will you get to blow your wad. Of course, you can make him come to you first, but that is something you cannot always control, particularly since a smart DM would send the creature at your squishy wizard in the meantime. So we have to resort to other means of avoiding a beating. tell me if there are more 4. Invisibility If you’re an invisibility build, you can get away with this pretty easily, as you could make your move + attack, then force the opponent to roll a 50% concealment miss chance while full-attacking you back, assuming he’s willing to take that heavy penalty. The next round, after your full attack, if the enemy survives, take a 5-foot step while Moving Silently (perhaps at a -5 penalty, depending on your DM’s ruling of the vague text in the PHB) and force the target to guess which square you are now in before trying to hit you at 50% miss chance. 5. Putting a status effect on the opponent The gist of it is this: You move and attack (or charge, whatever), and by doing so, put some kind of effect on the target so that he cannot retaliate efficiently. The best method I’m aware of is the feat Staggering Strike 112. If everything goes as planned, the opponent becomes staggered until your next turn, which means they can only take a single standard action. Guess what that means? No full attack! Sweet. It does requires that the attack you make be a sneak attack though—usually not too difficult, as you can simply wait for your teammates to get there first to help you flank, or perhaps you could figure out a way for your keystone to apply. (To take the feat you must have BAB 6, but that’s easily acquired by level 9 when you can take this feat.) However, it allows your opponent to Fort save against the damage dealt, so make sure you’ve stacked tons of d6s to consistently stagger your targets. Methods of gimping the target: Staggering Srike 112 Stunning target with Monk’s Stunning Strike tell me about others 6. Full attack on a charge The typical best way to get this is from one level of barbarian, taking the Lion Totem (Complete Champion 46). While you're at it, you may as well take the Whirling Frenzy variant. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/classFeatureVariants.htm#rageVariantWhirlingFrenzy) If you can't get this, continue reading for other methods. This essentially skips the first round and allows you to make a full-attack first, hopefully staggering or straight-up killing your opponent before he gets to full-attack you. This has been an area piquing very, very heavy interest, resulting in many solutions, but the best that I’ve found, at least for my purposes, is Snow Tiger Berserker East 45. (Aside: Many people want to go the Telflammar Shadowlord 36 route for Shadow Pounce, but while it’s quite flavorful and excellent for utility characters, it’s simply not optimized for TWF/MWFs. The feat prerequisites alone gimp a TWF/MWF pretty badly; no self-respecting TWF/MWFer can afford to take the Spring attack feat tree all the way and Blind-fight as well. Add to that the lack of SA dice given, and the requirement of being human (rules out MWF), and you have something that’s simply not worth it.) The Snow Tiger Berserker feat, however, is almost custom-made for this build. Only light weapons apply (short swords and daggers are fine by me), and all you have to do is take two levels in Barbarian, pay 2 Knowledge local skill points, and satisfy a roleplaying requirement. The Brb levels are great anyway, since they give you excellent hitpoints, speed, and rage, not to mention getting Uncanny Dodge for faster Improved Uncanny Dodge. The result is the ability to full attack off any charge, which is actually pretty rare—often, other Pounce abilities only let you do it once per battle. Another option to get a full attack on a charge without spending a precious feat is to get someone to cast Lion's Charge (Miniatures Handbook p37, also Spell Compendium I think) on you to get the same effect. Full charge, but retain the option to use full attack option when reaching target. Methods of getting a full attack first: (See Full-attack on a charge) 7. Feats Obviously Two Weapon Fighting, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Greater Two-Weapon Fighting. Or, if you are blessed with more than two arms, Multiweapon Fighting, and the Improved and Greater versions (unprinted in 3.5 as of yet, but as MM states that TWF becomes MWF when the creature has more arms, it’s pretty logical to assume ITWF becomes IMWF, and GTWF becomes GMWF). Staggering Strike 112 (see above) Snow Tiger Berserker 45 (see above) IV.B. THF Strategies 1. Spring attack The standard answer to “How do I optimize a THF sneaker?” is “Spring attack.” And for good reason too—with all those SA dice, you must have taken classes giving d6 HD, meaning you have 2 fewer HP per level than a standard melee combatant who took d10s, and since you don’t get the significant benefit from having multiple weapons all getting SA dice, you’re already at a disadvantage when performing the full-attack action. Therefore, it’s best to maximize your defense and jump around your opponent. The general theme is mobility. Since you’ll want to throw your eggs into keeping the target from getting more than 1 attack per round on you, keeping ahead of him is a good idea. A THF sneaker who never gets cornered, always can move around, and keeps his opponent on his toes is a successful THF sneaker. 2. Use flanking to meet keystone Because mobility is also necessary for flanking, good synergy occurs when a THF sneaker relies on flanking to acquire keystone. This way, you won’t have to spend skill points, feats, levels, or gold getting invisibility, feinting, or special incapacitating attacks. Flanking is just as good. (See III.A. Flanking Method, above.) 3. Speed The more footage you can move in a round, the better your chances of getting into a flanking position, and the more often you can stay out of your opponent’s way. You may be able to spring attack around a corner, for example, preventing a charge on the next round. Can be acquired through Barbarian, Monk, or various non-human races. 4. Movement skills Tumble, Jump, Climb, etc. If you can jump over a table or tumble through a window as part of your Spring attack, you can effectively stay away from your opponent while forcing him to spend extra movement to reach you, if he can even do that. 5. Lighter armor To keep your speed high and avoid armor check penalties for your movement skills, avoid armor heavier than light. IV.C. Ranged Strategies Best option for a ranged attack sneaker, since you can't actually flank, is (obviously) to deny dex. There are a few good ways to do this. Status effects on the target such as stunning work wonders, or forcing them to balance. Level 1 spell such as grease will render someone flat-footed unless they have at least 5 ranks in the balance skill. My personal favorite, though; is blink. It basically allows you to strike as if you're invisible, even if someone can see invisibility. Improved blink is better, because then there's no chance of your throw occuring while you're on the ethereal plane. IV.D. Spell or SLA Strategies not very experienced with this type of sneaker. Help? V. Ability Scores done yet VI. Skills done yet VII. Feats A list of all good feats for sneakers, along with their sources, an explanation of what they do, and an analysis on why and when they’re good. Craven 17 Adds your character level to EACH sneak attack, meaning if you’re swinging two arms three times each, that’s 60 more damage for a level 10 character, if all hit, and 120 for a level 20 character. This is actually kind of ridiculous, because it increases your SA damage by, on average, about 60%. Like instead of doing X (from weapon) + Y (from STR and other stuff) + Z (from d6s), you will do X + Y + 1.6Z. Insane. No sneak attacker should leave this out. Just make sure you don’t acquire fear immunity, because then you won’t be able to use thisfeat anymore. Dodge 93 +1 AC to one target per round (who might not even attack you) is not worth a feat. Not very optimized except to get to Mobility and Spring Attack. Expeditious Dodge 150 +2 AC against ALL targets whenever you move more than 40 feet in a round. A MUCH better version of the normal Dodge, especially for SAers with Barb levels for a 40ft move, or for THF chargers, as it nicely offsets the -2 AC penalty. And the best part? It counts as Dodge for qualifying for classes, feats, etc. Has the exact same requirements as Dodge too. No reason NOT to take this instead of Dodge. Mobility 98 Gives +4 AC against attacks of opportunity. Useful for some builds, if you cannot Tumble past people, but in general, mostly used to get to Spring Attack. Spring Attack 100 Allows you to split your movement for the round up into two segments, one before and one after your standard action, providing you spend that standard action making a single melee attack. Useful in many situations, particularly for a THF sneaker. See THF Strategies IV.B. above. Elusive Target 110 Among other things, it negates PA damage being used against you while still inflicting the penalties, which keeps the d6-light Sneak Attacker from being instantly splatted by massive Power Attacks. 2d6 + 12 is a lot more survivable than 2d6 + 12 + 50. Plus, it has Dodge and Mobility as prerequisites, so if you have a feat to spare after going the Spring Attack route, this might be a worthy consideration. Snow Tiger Berserker 45 Lets you make a full attack action at the conclusion of the charge instead of a single attack, but only with light weapons. Crucial to many builds for both survivability and blitzing power. Staggering Strike 112 On a sneak attack, forces target to Fort save vs. damage dealt or be staggered until your next turn, meaning only a standard action before you get to go again. Excellent way to really ruin your opponent if you can get a solid hit in with lots of SA dice. Two-Weapon Fighting 102 Reduces the penalties for fighting with two weapons. This is necessary if you’re going to specialize in fighting with two weapons. If you can wield more than two manufactured weapons, take Multiweapon Fighting. It has the same requirements, just applies to multi-limbed creatures. Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved 96 Allows you to make a second iterative attack with your offhand. You need this after TWF or you will fall behind in your ability to output damage when your friends and enemies alike start getting iterative attacks. Two-Weapon Fighting, Greater 95 Allows you to make a third iterative attack with your offhand. Again, you need this after ITWF. VII. Races, Classes, Prestige Classes A list of all good races, base classes, and prestige classes for sneakers, along with their sources, an description of what they are, and an analysis on why they’re good when they’re good. VII.A. Races done yet VII.B. Base Classes done yet VII.C. Prestige Classes done yet IX. Builds